


Father's Day

by CthulhusBabe



Series: The Macon Diaries [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Day Out, F/M, Family Feels, Father's Day, Fluffy as hell, Gen, One-Eyed Carl Grimes, Other characters are mentioned briefly, Past Relationship(s), Pointless Story, Writing Exercise, aquarium, carl grimes is basically judith's father, carl wants his family together for the day, early stages meaning michonne/rick, early stages of relationship, grimes family celebrating father's day, grimes family feels, obviously applies to lori/rick, rick just wants to be a good dad, rick works too much, stupidly fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11236494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CthulhusBabe/pseuds/CthulhusBabe
Summary: All Carl wants is one day where his Dad spends the day with them





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written for TWD fandom in three or four years, so I'm fairly out of touch with the characters. This is obviously an AU where the Grimes family goes to the aquarium. I'm British and never been to America, so any details about the Georgia Aquarium is from videos on YouTube or from its official website (also $40 to get into an aquarium is a ridiculous amount, in the UK the most we pay is £15 [or at least at the aquarium where I live]). 
> 
> Also I don't understand your Universities. Like at all. 
> 
> In the comics the Grimes family are from Cynthiana, Kentucky and its never stated in the TV show where they are from. In one of my big fics that is currently being planned, Rick and his family have moved from Cynthiana to Macon. 
> 
> The dialogue is written in standard (British) English as I don't quite trust myself to write phonetically or in accents yet, maybe in the future? 
> 
> This work is unbeta'd 
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> M R Jackson

All Carl wanted was one day when his father was around. Rick, his father, spent a lot of his time out of the house, either working at the local police station as the sheriff’s deputy or going out on dates with his new partner Michonne. Since his mother’s death, three years ago (when Carl himself was only 15 years old), his father went missing a lot resulting in Carl spending his free time looking after his baby sister Judith. The outcome of this meant Carl had very few friends, and those that he did soon turned on him. An example of this was his friend Ron Anderson who had shot him, yes actually shot him, in the eye. It narrowly missed his brain, but now Carl was stuck with a gammy, useless eye. He hated it. Hated the way it looked. Hated the way people would stare at him in the street with pity. His father wasn’t even there for him when it happened. Just slapped handcuffs on Ron’s wrists and whisked him down to the station. It was Beth Greene who had gone with him to the hospital. 

This weekend would be Father’s Day- Sunday to be exact, and Carl was determined to have the family together to celebrate the commercial holiday. He waited until Judith was in bed, and Rick was sat in the living room cuddled up with Michonne as they waited for Carl to finish dinner. Carl didn’t mind cooking, it gave him something to do once his school work was finished and Judith was in bed. In an ideal world, his father would be cooking- looking out for his kids and watching them as they grew up. Not that Carl minded, he was eighteen now, a man. That meant responsibility. That meant looking out for his three-year olds sister when his Dad wasn’t around. Rick wasn’t a bad Dad per say, he was a busy man, and Carl knew he was working so much to support his family. Carl didn’t have a job, a problem that faced many young men and women and those identifying as something else. Carl had very little experience in retail and because of that, nowhere would hire him. It was increasingly frustrating. So, Carl did what he could around the house whilst he waited for his first semester to begin at Georgia State University. 

Dishing up dinner, Carl called out to Rick and Michonne and waited for them to come sit at the table. He placed the dishes on the table, sitting himself at the head of table. Soon, Michonne and his father shuffled in, sitting opposite each other and digging into the delightful dish Carl had prepared. 

“This is good Carl. Real good.” Rick complimented. 

Michonne smiled at him, sucking up a pasta noodle, “Your Dad told me you were a great chef Carl. You should be proud of this.”

Carl grinned his thanks, carelessly pushing his pasta around with his fork, “Do you have any plans for this weekend?” 

Rick shrugged, looking at Michonne, “We both have the weekend off work, and haven’t got plans to go out. Why?” 

Carl shrugged, “Just don’t book anything, alright? It would be cool if you spent one weekend with Judith, she misses her Dad.” 

Rick’s eyes fell to the table cloth, a mix of embarrassment and guilt swarming his eyes, “I don’t… I didn’t think it was affecting her so much with her being so young. Works got me under wraps with everything going on around here, and that Everett case up in Atlanta has everyone in a frenzy.”  
Rick looked towards Carl in his good eye, “We’ll do something fun this weekend, don’t you worry kid.” 

-Page Break- 

Sunday soon rolled around, and as was usual Carl woke before his father. Judith was sat happily in her bed surrounded by her toys. 

“Hey there Judy,” Carl cooed picking the small girl, “Its Father’s Day today, why don’t you go wake up Dad?”  
Judith giggled, “Go see Daddy!”

Carl placed the little girl on the floor and watched as she toddled off towards Rick’s room. With Judith gone, Carl headed downstairs to make breakfast. He was determined to have this day as perfect as possible. Turning the gas on in the kitchen, Carl began cooking bacon and eggs for himself and his father, whilst also mixing some porridge for Judith. The coffee pot was on, and Carl waited impatiently for it to boil. Missing an eye, it was hard to keep everything under control through depth perception, but Carl was adamant about making it work. He concentrated on pouring the coffee into mugs, trying not to spill it on the counter. The sugar was harder, but Carl managed to get the majority of two scoops into his cup, instead of all over the counter. He finished with creamer in his, before placing the mugs on the table, followed by the plates of food. The bacon was slightly burnt, as was the toast. But Carl was certain his Dad would eat it anyway. Judith’s porridge was also burnt, but Carl picked out the burnt parts and threw them in the bin, scooping the unburnt parts into Judith’s bowl. With the table set, a dressed and showered Rick began descending down the stairs with Judith, dressed in a pretty grey dress (a present from Maggie and Glenn for Judith’s third birthday).

“This looks great Carl,” Rick commented putting Judith in her chair, “What’s the occasion?”

Carl shrugged, keeping an eye on Judith as she happily shoved porridge in her mouth, “Its Father’s Day. I thought we could spend the day together?” 

Rick smiled, “I think that would be great Carl. It hurts not being able to spend so much time with you two, but I figured now you’re an adult you wouldn’t want to spend so much time with your old man.” 

Carl gave a weak smile, “Us Grimes have to stick together.”

He got up from the table and went to the living room, when he reappeared he was carrying a small bag.  
“Judith and I got you a few things for Father’s Day.” 

He handed the bag to Rick, who was soon pulling things out. There were two cards, one from Judith and one from Carl. Judith’s declared him as the number one Dad, and Carl’s card was perhaps the worst pun Rick had ever come across, resulting in unattractive snorts erupting out of Rick every time he looked at the offending card. 

The presents were sweet, or so Carl thought. Judith’s was handmade, a drawing of the family that even included Michonne as well as a beaded bracelet that read ‘daddy’. The bracelet was made of a thin leather cord with a fastening that Carl had hooked on for her; the beads were dark blue and black (her father’s favourite colours) and the word was imprinted on white block beads. Judith loved the bracelet and chanted happily when Rick hooked it onto his wrist. 

“Do you like it?”

Rick smiled down at her, “I love it sweetheart.” 

Carl’s presents were also handmade, two photo-frames, one including a photo of him, Lori and Rick from years ago when Carl was around 11 years old, whilst the other frame showed off a photo of Judith, Rick and Carl. The photo was taken a few months after Carl’s accident and on Judith’s third birthday. Carl looked grumpy, scowling with his one eye. Rick was smiling happily, his arm thrown over Michonne as they both held up Judith. The family were surrounded by their friends- Maggie and Glenn, Beth and her father Hershel, Carol and her little girl Sophia, Sasha, Abraham, Eugene and Rosita, Daryl and Jesus, Merle (who looked uninterested and was drinking from a bottle), Shane (who looked like he was about to punch Merle), and Dale and Andrea. It was a happy moment for the family. Celebrating the newest Grimes child as she grew up. Rick smiled fondly at the photos.

“Thank you, Carl. This is wonderful.” 

Carl smiled back, “That’s not the only thing I got you.” Carl handed his father another small parcel. It was a hunting knife, chosen by Carl with the help of Daryl. His father always made a comment about how he wanted to learn vital survival skills, with Daryl as his teacher, claiming that one day the end of the world might occur and he’d need every skill he could muster to keep his family safe. He hadn’t started his lessons with Daryl yet, as work was taking up too much time. 

Carl embarrassingly shrugged when he saw how happy his father was, “I just thought, you know, it would be handy for when you start going hunting with Daryl.”  
His father got up from his seat and approached Carl pulling him into a tight hug, muttering “Thank you,” again and again into Carl’s hair. 

-Page Break-

Rick stopped Carl from washing up, claiming they had already lost too many plates. Carl begrudgingly handed over the dirty dishes and went out to the front yard to play with Judith. From his front yard, Carl could spot see his neighbours walking in the street. The families together and celebrating a day meant for fatherhood. As much as Carl moaned about Rick and his lack of parenting skills, he considered himself lucky to have a father. There were some, like his oldest friend Sophia, who didn’t have a father. Though Carl supposed Sophia didn’t mind too much as Ed was reported to be a total dick, an abusive dick at that and he was better off elsewhere. Besides, Daryl was somewhat of a surrogate father to Sophia, and Carl had a feeling when they were growing up Sophia valued Daryl more so then her biological father.

Judith looked at her brother with wide eyes, “Where we go?” she asked. 

Carl scooped her into his arms, chucking her into the air and catching her, “How about the aquarium? Go and see all the fishes?” 

Judith, laughing from being thrown in the air, shrilled happily at the thought of the aquarium. She’d never been herself, only seeing pictures or fish on television. Carl hadn’t been to the aquarium since well before his mother’s death. It had never really crossed his mind to go there since, the last time he’d been there was when Rick was in a coma and his mother and Uncle Shane had taken him. 

Rick soon appeared in the doorway, gazing down at his children with adoration. It was these moments he cherished. The little domestic times when he didn’t have to worry about work, and could instead focus on his little, perfect family. Judith clapped happily when she saw he was wearing her bracelet still, and pressed a messy kiss on her father’s cheek when he picked her up to put her in her car seat. Carl made his way to the car also, sitting in the front passenger seat and browsing through Rick’s CD collection before settling on an old ACDC disk. 

The Aquarium was about an hour and a half way. Georgia Aquarium was stunning and Carl spent most of the trip showing pictures of the fish to Judith. When they arrived, Rick parked up the car and got Judith out of her seat, holding her in his arms. Carl slung Judith’s bag over his shoulder and pulled a camera out of the glove compartment. He knew there would be some great opportunities for photos today- to celebrate the first day in a long time, that Rick would be spending with his small family. As they walked up the road, Carl could see the Ferris wheel in the distance. Rick pointed it out to Judith. 

“Look at that Judith, look at the Ferris wheel!” 

“Looks like a spider web.” Judith told her father. 

Rick laughed, “It kinda does yeah. It goes round and round.” 

Carl smiled, walking behind his father and sister, occasionally snapping photos of them both.  
They approached the entrance, walked in and paid for their tickets. Rick placed Judith on the floor as the family had a wand run over their body to make sure they weren’t sneaking anything in. Carl went before Judith, and watched as she stood there, not understanding what to do. 

“Hold your arms out like you’re a zombie Judy.” 

Judith smiled and held her arms out in front of her, copying her brother’s actions. When she was done, she scuttled off and held onto Carl’s hand tight. Rick was the last to go through. 

“I forgot how much this place was,” Rick remarked, “nearly $40 for us each to get in, and $32 for Judith.” 

They walked further into the aquarium, Judith pulling Carl along and getting annoyed when he stopped to take photos. He called over his dad and asked someone to take a photo of three of them in front of one of the rock displays, thanking the guy when he handed the camera back. Judith was truly in her element, racing around and looking at everything the aquarium had to offer. Her favourite part so far was the white American Alligator. She stared at it for ages, following its slight movements with her eyes. Carl thought it was incredibly cute and started snapping photos. He smiled at his Dad who watched Judith fondly, making sure she didn’t wander off and get lost in the crowds. 

“This is nice,” Carl commented, “We should do this more often.” 

Rick smiled, “I’m gonna try to get more time off, after I was shot everyone at the station, Shane included, wanted me to retire. But I’m stubborn. I’m gonna keep at it. But I’ll work on getting more time off. I miss spending time with you two, especially as you’re heading off to University in a few months.” 

Judith pointed at the alligator, bringing the attention back to her, “It looks evil!” she told her Dad honestly, 

“Maybe its planning an escape?” Carl joked, lifting Judith into his arms and tickling her. 

They continued walking on, and Rick took the camera from Carl and instead began taking photos of his children. Carl approached the tank with the jellyfish and watched as Judith pressed her small fingers against the tank trailing her finger up and down as they traced the trailing tentacles. 

They continued to walk, Carl and Rick strolling in sync making conversation about trivial matters, whilst little Judith raced ahead trying to watch as much of the marine life as possible. The young girl stared in wonder at the large tank housing various fish and sting rays. She had never seen so many fish. She wove her way through people’s legs and pressed her face against the glass of the tank taking everything in. She was engrossed by the fish swimming around she didn’t hear the worried yells of her brother and father. When Rick found Judith, the crowds had moved on allowing Rick to snap a cute photograph of his little girl. He motioned for Carl to join her, and relished in the beautiful silhouetted photograph he had taken of his children. Handing the camera back to his son, Rick lifted Judith into his arms and continued to walk around the aquarium. They came across penguins next, Judith giggling excitedly when the penguins twirled and danced in the water. 

“Pretty,” she told her father. 

Rick agreed. 

There was more to be seen, with Judith impatiently wriggling from her father’s arms to go and see the wonders kept behind a glass tank. Rick glanced over at his son, and saw the young man yawning. He glanced at watch, it was almost half 7. He gathered Judith up in his arms again, and motioned for Carl to come over.

“It’s getting late, why don’t we hit the gift shop and head home? We can order pizza?”

Carl nodded, too tired to say anything and wordlessly took Judith out of his father’s arms. Judith’s new favourite part of the aquarium was the gift shop, as she proudly told her father when picking up a new stuffed toy. She was currently deciding between a stuffed penguin and a stuffed shark and was debating with Carl which animal would be the better guest at her tea party. Eventually the little girl decided on a stuffed shark and happily made her way to the counter. After paying for it, Rick placed his card back in his wallet and glanced over at his son, slinging an arm over his son’s shoulders. 

“Nothing take your fancy here Carl?” 

Carl snorted, “Nope, can’t say it does. I still have the stuffed octopus I got from here the last time.” 

He smiled at his Dad, gratefully taking his arm when he stumbled slightly on the steps. They exited the aquarium, a smile on all three’s faces- Carl hanging onto his father for support, Judith resting her head on her father’s shoulders, and Rick glancing between his two stunning children and wondering what he did in this world to be graced by these two wonderful children.


End file.
